So Cal Energy Shortage Could Cause Rotating Outages This Summer

So Cal residents should be prepared to reduce energy use this summer as there will be an energy shortage for the next two months. On Wednesday, June 20, Southern California Edison (SCE) representatives Veronica Gutierrez, Vice President of Local Public Affairs and Pam Deahl, Manager of Business Solutions met with local Inland Empire news media at the San Bernardino Feldheym Library to formally debrief.

SCE has ordered the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, near San Clemente, California, to shut down Units 2 & 3 for maintenance and public safety reasons. The San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station generates 2,200 megawatts of power to 1.4 million homes and is jointly owned by SCE, San Diego Gas & Electric Company and the city of Riverside. According to Gutierrez, Unit 2 should be up by the end of August 2012 but Unit 3 is to be determined. The worst complication that could occur this summer is rotating outages, which could last for one hour. Every So Cal resident is at risk.

It’s important to connect with SCE online through Facebook and Twitter to get the latest information on rotating outages, safety tips, and summer discount plans. SCE has provided several tips to protect our energy use including: 1.) Keep the thermostat on your A/C to 78 degrees Fahrenheit; 2.) Use your washer, dryer and dishwasher after 6:00 pm; 3.) Make sure coffee pots, radios and other electronics have been turned off or unplugged when not in-use; 4.) Turn off your computer screen saver; 5.) Set your computer to turn your monitor off after 10 minutes and your hard drive off after 20 minutes of inactivity; 6.) Allow your laptop computer to run on battery energy during the day and charge it back up at night; 7.) Reduce the use of your baking oven during warm temperatures because it can protect your A/C and increase efficiency; and 8.) Turn off lights when they are not in use. If you experience a power outage, contact SCE and report it. SCE has provided cooling stations in your area. You can use your smartphone or laptop to find a center (Call 1-800-811-1911 or visit http://www.sce.com/info/PowerOutages/default.htm). You should have your “planned outage number” ready when you call or go online. Every home is assigned a planned outage number and this number can be found on your monthly bill.

SCE also has provided a number of summer saving programs for its residents and businesses including: Save Power days (provides monthly bill credits to those who reduce power use during peak periods between 12:00pm-6:00pm daily), conservation tips and appliance rebates, Budget Assistant (a program that helps residents to better manage their electric bills), Summer Discount Plan, Time-of-use Base Interruptible Programs, and more. Other programs can be found at sce.com/drp for businesses and sce.com/Summer or sce.com/SummerOC for residents. Stay connected with SCE through Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/socaledison) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/#!/socaledison) for updates.

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